"The Great Gatsby" is considered to be Fitzgerald's greatest completed work. It is set in the fictious city of West Egg in Long Island and depicts the hope and disillusionment inspired by the dream of becoming wealthy. It is a portrait of the spiritlessness of the 1920's and the cruelty of immense wealth.
Nick Carraway, the narrator, leaves his wealthy midwestern family to learn about New York city's financial world. He is soon introduced to the frantic, superficial lifestyles of the rich through contact with his rich cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. He also gets a glimpse into that artificial world by attending a series of parties thrown by Jay Gatsby, Nick's neighbor. He soon learns of his cousin Daisy's dissatisfaction regarding her marriage to Tom, who is anything but faithful. He is also informed by his brief love interest, golf pro Jordan Baker, that Daisy had been in love with Gatsby when they were both teens, but his military service ended their courtship.
Later, Nick agrees to help Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their romance. Gatsby's purpose for years has been to win back the love for Daisy that he had hopelessly idealized. Soon, on a rainy, dreary afternoon, Gatsby and Daisy meet and seem lost in the emotions that have resurfaced for them both. After this becomes a steady affair, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, Nick and Jordan take a trip to the city. After an uncomfortable confrontation between Daisy, Gatsby, and Tom, Daisy drives recklessly back to Long Island. As a result, she runs down and kills Myrtle, Tom's mistress, with Gatsby's car.
George, Myrtle's husband, overwhelmed with a sense of betrayal and grief, hunts down Tom in a mad frenzy and forces him to reveal the owner of the car that killed his wife. He then goes on to shoot both Gatsby, who had been lounging in his unused pool, and himself. Gatsby, a failure in his quest to reclaim his true love, dies alone, deserted even by the hundreds of "friends" that had once flocked to his lavish parties. Nick, sickened by the empty, careless, lives of the rich, returns to the midwest.
Summary
"The Great Gatsby" is considered to be Fitzgerald's greatest completed work. It is set in the fictious city of West Egg in Long Island and depicts the hope and disillusionment inspired by the dream of becoming wealthy. It is a portrait of the spiritlessness of the 1920's and the cruelty of immense wealth.
Nick Carraway, the narrator, leaves his wealthy midwestern family to learn about New York city's financial world. He is soon introduced to the frantic, superficial lifestyles of the rich through contact with his rich cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. He also gets a glimpse into that artificial world by attending a series of parties thrown by Jay Gatsby, Nick's neighbor. He soon learns of his cousin Daisy's dissatisfaction regarding her marriage to Tom, who is anything but faithful. He is also informed by his brief love interest, golf pro Jordan Baker, that Daisy had been in love with Gatsby when they were both teens, but his military service ended their courtship.
Later, Nick agrees to help Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their romance. Gatsby's purpose for years has been to win back the love for Daisy that he had hopelessly idealized. Soon, on a rainy, dreary afternoon, Gatsby and Daisy meet and seem lost in the emotions that have resurfaced for them both. After this becomes a steady affair, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, Nick and Jordan take a trip to the city. After an uncomfortable confrontation between Daisy, Gatsby, and Tom, Daisy drives recklessly back to Long Island. As a result, she runs down and kills Myrtle, Tom's mistress, with Gatsby's car.
George, Myrtle's husband, overwhelmed with a sense of betrayal and grief, hunts down Tom in a mad frenzy and forces him to reveal the owner of the car that killed his wife. He then goes on to shoot both Gatsby, who had been lounging in his unused pool, and himself. Gatsby, a failure in his quest to reclaim his true love, dies alone, deserted even by the hundreds of "friends" that had once flocked to his lavish parties. Nick, sickened by the empty, careless, lives of the rich, returns to the midwest.
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Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.
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